Blood Disease
by FailKitten13
Summary: This was a really dumb idea, but at least it's original? I hope someone out there has my same odd taste in crossovers and all that. Enjoy. C:


The seventeen-year-old checked her black hair to make sure it was in place before stepping aboard the ARK.  
"You should be safe up here," one of the bodyguards told her.  
"...Thank you so much for helping me," she replied. "But, what are you going to do when you go back?"  
"We're Amber's bodyguards now," the other told her. "Just because Rotti died doesn't mean we're out of a job."  
Before Shilo(the aforementioned girl)could even begin to ask anymore questions, the mysterious women turned back and boarded the transport they'd arrived on. Cautiously, the pale girl turned to face the hallway before her. She headed down it and, as she reached the end, she was met by an older bald man with a very large grey moustache.  
"Welcome to the Space Colony ARK," he greeted with a smile. "I didn't get a message telling me you were coming, so I'll have to go and find a place for you now. My apologies."  
"It's fine," Shilo replied with a small nod.  
"Pardon me for prying into your personal life," he started, "but you don't look like you have NIDS. You look a lot...sicker."  
"Oh...I...I actually have leukimia," she told him. "Is that a problem?"  
"Well...it really shouldn't be, but NIDS is very contagious and your condition could worsen. You may have to leave."  
"Look...I don't care if I catch anything else. This place is my best bet for survival right now. Back on Earth, I have people after me because this psychopath wants me dead. With the way things have been going, she might want to ensure that happens in the worst possible way. Please let me stay here?" Shilo begged.  
The man pondered her request for a moment, looking quite troubled as either decision he made would endanger her life in some way.  
"Alright. You can stay," he replied. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Professor Gerald Robotnik. You are?"  
"I'm Shilo Wallace," she told him, extending her arm for a handshake. "Thank you so much for letting me stay."

Shilo shared a room with the professor's grandson - the only other person on the ARK without NIDS and who kept to himself to keep it that way. Needless to say, the boy, whose name was Ivo, was rather unhappy about his new roommate.  
Shilo wasn't about to let that discourage her. She had a new world to explore, one that she was certain wasn't as harsh and wicked as the one she'd left behind. As she checked her wig one final time, Shilo headed out the door and down the hall. Eventually, she made it to a large, empty room. Most of the walls were the same except for one, and it was a window overlooking Earth. As Shilo took note of this window, she also saw that the room was, in fact, not empty. Two figures were by the window, one standing and one sitting. She could see that the one sitting down was a little blonde girl who couldn't have been older than thirteen. However, she wasn't entirely sure what the upright one was.  
This figure was black and furry, with large, red striped spikes coming out of the back of its head. As Shilo tried to make sense of it, it turned its head.  
"Who are you?" it demanded in a deep and intimidating voice.  
The girl next to the creature turned her head as well and smiled sweetly at Shilo.  
"It's okay, Shadow. She isn't hurting anything. She's probably just curious," the girl told him as she weakly brought herself to her feet.  
She approached Shilo, 'Shadow' following closely behind and keeping a keen eye on the newcomer.  
"Hello, there," the girl greeted. "I'm Maria. What's your name?"  
"I'm Shilo," she replied uncertainly, staring right back at Shadow.  
"You must be new here. I recognise everyone who lives here except for you."  
Shilo nodded. "I just got here today."  
"See, Shadow? She's just a newcomer who was looking around," Maria told the creature.  
"Hmph," he grunted, not appearing to want to be any friendlier.  
"Uh...do you mind if I ask...what he is?" Shilo asked, gesturing toward Shadow.  
"Oh, we picked him up on one of Grandpa's research trips. He used to live on a planet called Mobius. He's a hedgehog."  
Shilo nodded slowly, though she wasn't sure what exactly it was that she was being told.  
"If you're going to be nosey, go do it somewhere else," Shadow followed up in yet another attempt to kick Shilo out of the room.  
"Shadow, be nice!" Maria scolded. "She isn't hurting anyone!"  
In spite of Maria's reassurance that Shilo wasn't being harmful, Shadow continued to stare her down with a fiery hatred.  
"Maybe...maybe I should go," Shilo said, eyeing Shadow wearily.  
Maria glared at Shadow(though even the glare didn't seem very threatening). "No, you stay. We were just talking and looking at the earth like we usually do. Nothing special."  
"Well, if you insist," Shilo replied, still uncertain.  
Maria nodded with a smile and returned to sitting in front of the large window. Shilo slowly sat next to her.  
"So...you've been living here your whole life?" Shilo wondered aloud, hoping to start a friendly conversation.  
"Not exactly," Maria told her. "I only started living here when I was two. My parents both died of NIDS by then and I had to live with my grandfather on this colony."  
"Wait...is your grandfather the professor?"  
Maria nodded. "Yeah. He's trying to find a cure for this disease so that one day I can go down to that planet."  
"It's not a good place to be," Shilo said, disgust evident in her tone of voice. "Trust me. I lived there my whole life."  
"Maybe you just lived in the wrong part," Maria tried with a shrug.  
Shilo nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe..."  
The image of a clear sky over a beautiful little town, full of life and void of GeneCo hung over Shilo's head, tantalizing her.  
"Where did you get NIDS?" Maria piped up.  
Shilo looked at her in confusion. "Excuse me?"  
"Well, I mean, everyone who has NIDS was sent up here to live by law, and you only just got here from Earth. So, where did you possibly get it?"  
"Oh, I...I don't have NIDS. I have leukimia. I'm up here because I'm being searched for on Earth by some...unsavory people."  
Maria's face fell. "Well...if you stay up here, you'll catch it soon enough."  
"I know. Your...grandfather told me."  
"That doesn't bother you?"  
Shilo shook her head.  
"It isn't any worse than what would happen to me if I showed my face down there again."  
"Wow...what did you do wrong?" Maria asked, seeming awed.  
She didn't seem to be able to believe her new friend could do any wrong(not that Shilo did do anything wrong).  
"I didn't do anything," Shilo told her with a helpless shrug. "The head of GeneCo wanted to give me his company just before he died...and his children resent me for it."  
"GeneCo? What's that?" Maria asked, her face growing more puzzled.  
Shilo probably spent an hour in that room, explaining what was going on on the planet below to the younger girl. She didn't really mind. It was obvious they needed each other's company: Shilo had no one but her father to talk to her entire life(who was working constantly), and Maria's only friend in the world was Shadow(who, while very sweet and lovely to Maria, was not very sociable at all). The three wound up sleeping in that room(Shadow between them, of course), side-by-side.  
Shilo couldn't remember the last time she'd gone to sleep feeling so happy.


End file.
